The 13-year prison sentence for a man in his 40s, the stepfather of the victim in the "middle school stepson death case" in Iksan, North Jeolla, has been finalized. The man was indicted on charges of beating his stepson to death, but during the trial the real perpetrator was found to be the victim's older brother.
The Supreme Court's First Division (presiding Justice Chun Dae-yup) said on the 21st it upheld the lower court's sentence of 13 years in prison for A, 41, who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Child Abuse Crimes.
A was indicted on charges of repeatedly assaulting and killing his middle school stepson, B (14 at the time of death), at his home in Iksan, North Jeolla, on Jan. 13 last year. At the time, the stepfather, A, and the victim's older brother, C, 16, were in the house. Police questioned both, and both confessed, saying, "I hit him." But the older brother changed his statement a day later to, "I did not hit my younger brother," and only A was indicted.
In the first trial, A was sentenced to 22 years in prison. The court said, "The act of the robust defendant concentrating blows for about an hour on body parts that could cause fatal injuries to a victim who was underweight and small compared to peers is sufficiently dangerous to endanger life."
After having a biological son with the victim's biological mother in 2018, A married and lived together, raising B and his older brother C, who was one year older. In 2019, A committed child abuse against his two stepsons using a switch and other means and received a suspended sentence of imprisonment.
After the first-trial verdict, during the appeal A contested the murder charge as not guilty, arguing that "the real culprit is B's brother." A told the court, "Right after the incident, I decided to take the blame out of misguided paternal love, worrying about C's future, and falsely confessed."
The appellate court accepted this argument and sentenced A to 13 years in prison. It first determined that the direct act that led to B's death was committed by C, and it did not appear that A ordered it. It interpreted A's false statement as "an attempt to apologize to C and the victim in his own way."
However, the fact that A routinely used violence against his two stepsons was reflected in the sentence. The appellate court said, "On the day of the incident as well, he was abusing the victim and C," adding, "C appears to have been unable to endure under A's prior assaults and repeated discipline, and impulsively assaulted the victim to release psychological pressure. C's assault also all stemmed from A's conduct."
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, saying, "It cannot be said that the lower court's sentence of 13 years in prison for A is seriously unjust."